


Just Like Water

by Atanih88



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slash, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-28
Updated: 2010-10-28
Packaged: 2017-10-12 22:46:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/129942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atanih88/pseuds/Atanih88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>By the time one sees the illusion it's too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Like Water

**Author's Note:**

> Written for khrminibang at LJ. There is an art piece which accompanies this, which was done by realityfinale and can be seen here: http://i30.tinypic.com/2gw7u4y.jpg

Tsuna was waiting inside while they brought him out. They'd been standing there for at least an hour, with just Yamamoto and Gokudera with him for support in case something got out of hand. The room they were in was dark. Too dark. But their eyes adjusted. There were candles but those were just small glows of light far away that leant nothing but more shadows to the place as they waited outside the giant gates that reached the ceiling at least two entire floors above them and made of black steel.

The doors opened and Tsuna felt a line of cold slip down his spine, making it straighten and his mouth flatten in a tense line as his eyes focused with something like foreboding on the smaller person who walking with slow steps between five guards clothed in black robes that showed nothing of their faces.

Between the mass of bodies all Tsuna glimpsed was the bare feet on the floor; dark blue strands clinging to wet ankles with each step.

When they reached him, the two guards at the front stepped to the side and Tsuna found himself staring at the person who he'd seen several times during his course as the Vongola Tenth. But every time that Mukuro had come alive through Chrome—he hadn't looked like this. His hair hadn't been this long, nor his body this thin. It looked frail beneath the scrap of a cloak that they'd thrown around him.

Tsuna stared. His mouth became dry. Not from fear. But from something else. He rubbed his palms against the tailored trousers covering his thighs, the small dampness that had been on them rubbing off on the material.

The dark hair that shone blue spilled everywhere. The hood was pulled over his head but the hair escaped from it anyway, spilling from inside it. The hair was still wet too; dripping onto the floor even as the edges of those strands almost touched it themselves.

His wrists were still bound in front of him and there was white gauze tightly wound around his eyes. Even though he faced Tsuna, it was clear that he saw nothing.

"Why haven't you removed that yet?" Tsuna had asked the guards, flicking a disapproving glance at them.

There was a small tremble to those hands in the heavy cuffs and to the thin shoulders beneath the cloak. Tsuna frowned as he wondered if he had something else in the car that they could cover him with for now.

The guards didn't say anything.

Tsuna shook his head and stepped forward, his pale grey suit seemed out of place in the darkness surrounding him as he moved to stand in front of Mukuro.

Behind him he heard the clear sound of metal being unsheathed and knew that Yamamoto had his hand on the hilt of his blade. Ready to act if this went wrong.

But Tsuna didn't believe it would.

He was sure of his actions and even Reborn had agreed with what he was doing.

Yes, right then Tsuna was sure of what he was doing.

The guards either side of them clearly tensed when Tsuna reached out to push off the hood, revealing that face completely. _He_ hadn't spoken a word and Tsuna wasn't sure what that meant because there was nothing stopping him from talking.

Tsuna lifted his hands and reached behind the bowed head. His fingers brushed along the gauze that was tied around it. He followed it all the way back where he found the tight knots.

He would've moved around to undo them but Tsuna didn't like the idea of having the guards at his back. He'd learned that his Guardians were the only ones he ever wanted at his back.

He managed to undo them, feeling Gokudera's and Yamamoto's tension beating at his back. He'd been aware even then that they just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

Then when Tsuna began to unwind the gauze, he saw the tremble from the man in front of him. One violent tremble as the first layer of gauze fell away from his eyes. Then he went still.

Tsuna's fingers paused and he looked into that face. The first touch of apprehension passed through him then. Had he really seen that mouth move? Had he seen the lips curve? Or had it been something that those flames from the candles had made him think he'd seen with their sinuous dance in the dark in which the shadows joined in.

Tsuna ignored the thought and continued to unwind the bandages, watching as the layers fell one by one, pooling around those shoulders.

Then he reached the last length. He noted how the material clung to the dark strands, to the wet skin, peeling off his left temple, his eyebrow, the bridge of his nose—revealing one closed eye with long lashes pressed to his cheek—then the other.

The gauze fell away.

Tsuna lowered his hand; gauze still caught between the thumb and index finger of his right hand as it fell to his side.

He waited, gaze locked on the closed eyes.

When those lashes flickered, slow as if they didn't quite remember how to lift, Tsuna caught a glimmer of red. His heart thudded hard against his chest and that little brush of apprehension he'd felt only a few seconds ago returned to settle down between his shoulder blades. But he couldn't move his eyes away.

When those eyes opened and stared at Tsuna for the first time in eight years, Tsuna knew for the first time since making his decision, that this could very well be one of the biggest mistakes he'd ever made.

And as that thought ran through Tsuna's mind and reflected in his eyes...

Rokudo Mukuro smiled.

~

"Mukuro is too weak to infiltrate. He'll need time to recoup after being released."

Tsuna sighed at that. "Yes, I think so too. But we need to get someone in there to dismantle them and he's our best. We could try Chrome but I don't think she's at the level necessary for a job like this." His eyes fell to the small glossed prints spread over his desk, each one showing a recurring face.

The man in the photo's had a lightning shaped scar over his right eye which sealed it shut. He always wore the same sharp navy blue coat, belted tight at the waist

He was impossible to track. Tsuna had had countless men attempting to follow him back to wherever it was that he was based in but it never worked.

They either lost him or Tsuna lost his men.

His eyes narrowed on a particular one, where the man was at a small cafe known for its discretion in a notorious part of Florence. The man sitting across from him was someone they hadn't been able to get a clear shot of. There was something in the table between them that when Shouichi had managed to get a close up—had been revealed to be a small chest.

"The meetings have been increasing." Tsuna murmured to no one in particular even though the people on the other side of the desk were watching, waiting, trying to come up with some conclusions of their own.

Reborn sat in one of the arm chairs, relaxed with one leg crossed over the other, his fedora low over his eyes and his hands resting on either arm rest. On a matching chair, was Hibari. He too sat there, looking bored more than anything in his black suit, sharp eyes closed and his position in the chair eerily similar to Reborn's. Shouichi leaned against the door, one hand buried in his hair as he scratched at it looking stressed. But that was just Shouichi.

"They have—" Shouichi let out a frustrated growl, "it's not just that, we've tried tracing him countless times, we've been searching for a way to figure out how he just disappears but there's nothing, even Spanner has no idea how they're managing this."

Tsuna looked up from the pictures, his eyes running over the faces of the people in front of him. Then he leaned back in his chair and rubbed briefly at his temples. "The Varia?" He asked, eyes closing as he tried to see something, some kind of detail he was missing but which he couldn't seem to find.

Reborn watched him from beneath the shadow of the fedora. "Yamamoto has gone to see them."

At that Tsuna's lips quirked up a bit and he opened his eyes again, a brief touch of amusement glimmering. "That's good. They can barely stand us—me... but at least they give him a break now and then."

Shouichi snorted. "That might have to do with the fact that he takes it up th—"

"Shouichi-kun—" Tsuna held up a hand, a sheepish smile on his face as he wished Shouichi would learn to develop a filter between his mouth and his brain, "please. A reminder of what Yamamoto-kun does in his er... private life isn't necessary—"

Tsuna felt a familiar sensation crawl up his neck, lifting all of the tiny hairs on it and making them stand on end. He wasn't surprised when he looked at Hibari and found those eyes locked on him, not a hint of humour on them. But they were on him. Tsuna couldn't help staring back for a few seconds.

He knew what that gaze meant but right now wasn't the time for him to get caught up in that.

Fighting down the heat attempting to climb up his cheeks he gave his head a small shake and turned back to Shouichi.

"Do we at least know where he's going to be showing up next?"

Shouichi took off his glasses and sank down until he was on his haunches, his hand was once more rubbing at his head, harder than before and making the light brown hair even messier. Over time Tsuna had come to realise that this was something that seemed to help Shouichi's thought process so he no longer stared when the other man became agitated in this way. It was the way Shouichi worked.

"According to the places he's been, we've been mapping out the locations he's focused on and it seems like he's lingering in territory which belongs to each of the family's that Byakuran overtook and brought into his own plan. We can't tell if he's doing business with some of them but he's spending between one to two weeks in each place before disappearing. His absences range from one month to a month and a half before he reappears near someone else's territory and stays again." He glanced over at the Tsuna and nodded at his desk, indicating the pictures on it. "There's a picture there, the one at the cafe in Florence, he's meeting in Giglio Nero territory."

Tsuna shook his head. "So... he probably is with Byakuran."

"Gokudera has gone to meet with Lilly. He should be there by tomorrow night." Reborn pointed out and then he braced his hand on the arm chair and pushed up and out of his seat, length unfolding with an elegance that had always been there even in the tiny body he'd been trapped in for the majority of Tsuna's life. "Meanwhile, I suggest you rest. If you begin to stress then it will just cause us more problems. Get some rest."

Tsuna sent him an aggravated look. It really didn't matter how old he got, Reborn was always one step ahead.

"Alright." He said. "We'll continue this tomorrow when we hear from Yamamoto and Gokudera-kun."

Shouichi got up from his place on the floor, sliding his glasses back on. "Spanner is looking into the origins of the box they were looking at in those pictures; there might be some research on it that we might have over looked."

Tsuna nodded. "What about Bianchi and Lambo? Have they returned yet?"

"Yes, they got back last night. They're pretty out of it—they'll be back to normal in a few days. But I-Pin is ready whenever we need her and Ryohei said if you need him, to call him."

Tsuna flicked a look over at Reborn as he opened the door and stepped out without saying anything more. "Good—we still haven't gone to see the baby..." he murmured, "as soon as we get something on this we'll have to throw a party." He smiled at Shouichi. "Everyone needs a break and big brother would love it."

Shouichi nodded. "I'll tell everyone. Maybe if they think there'll be booze at the end of it they'll be more motivated."

Tsuna grinned and nodded goodbye at him when Shouichi waved a hand in his direction and followed Reborn's example and left. He closed the door behind him. Neither of the men that had left had been surprised that Hibari had remained where he was all that time, quiet, with his eyes closed once more as they'd left.

With only the click of the door and the sound of muffled steps getting fainter and fainter, Tsuna didn't speak. His eyes stayed on the door Shouichi had closed. But he could swear he could feel his heart beat in his throat. His hearing had become hyper sensitive as he strained to hear anything that might indicate that Hibari was looking at him or asleep or something.

When there was nothing, he allowed himself to look back at the only other person left in the room.

They hadn't spoken for a few weeks. It didn't help that Hibari preferred his own company to everyone else's _but_. Since Mukuro had finally been released after tough negotiation, he'd been more absent than ever.

Tsuna had known this would cause some upset between the other Guardians. Gokudera, despite having matured quite a bit in the last eight years, hadn't changed his opinion when it came to certain things. He'd argued against Mukuro coming back but in the end had given in when Tsuna had made it clear he didn't want a repeat of the future.

They wouldn't be at their strongest with one of their guardians locked away.

Tsuna wasn't entirely sure that Mukuro could be trusted but... for now; they'd have to deal with it.

But Gokudera could deal with it because Gokudera was loyal and even when it went against what he wanted, he gave Tsuna a chance to prove his theories with a belief that went one step further than what his other Guardians had in him.

Hibari was not one of those guardians. Nor was he just _one_ of his guardians. This made things slightly more complicated.

Tsuna had been scandalized when Shouichi had pointed out that part of the reason for all his frustration wasn't just because of the little espionage game that Byakuran seemed determined to play. Shouichi put it down to a much baser thing.

Tsuna hadn't gotten laid since Mukuro had stepped inside the Vongola quarters. And it was clearly affecting him.

That was Shouichi's theory.

Tsuna hadn't appreciated the opinion but hadn't really been able to deny it.

He never went to Hibari because he never knew when Hibari was in a receptive mood. So he was always waiting for when Hibari showed up and made it clear—in his own way—what it was that he'd come for.

Still. As much as he hated to have Hibari pissed off at him—at least more than usual because Hibari was always pissed off at someone for some reason or another—Tsuna couldn't let those things factor in on what he needed to do for his family. He had a feeling Hibari wouldn't be pleased if Tsuna thought otherwise.

It was the creak of the chair that got Tsuna's attention. His eyes drifted back to Hibari to find him staring right at him.

Tsuna gave him a tentative smile. "Was there... something else Hibari-san?"

Hibari stood, a hand catching his tie and adjusting it. "Don't be stupid. Hurry up."

Tsuna wasn't surprised at the blunt wording. There had never been a time where one soft word had come out of Hibari's mouth so he was used to it. But when it came to _them_ —not as Boss and Guardian but as, what they _were_ , Tsuna still had some trouble adjusting.

"Would you mind if you went ahead first?" He asked, glancing down at the pictures spread over his desk. He still had to make note of them and file them with the rest of the things connected to this investigation.

A frown tipped down Hibari's lips but when Tsuna looked up, he had already turned away from him and was walking to the door with his measured steps, not saying anything else as he opened the door and then closed it behind him with less care than everyone else had.

Tsuna contained the wince at the loud noise and then took in everything on his desk.

He really didn't know which way to approach this.

The person in the pictures before him was a shadow. They couldn't even find a hint of gossip in the grapevine, so either people were being paid off or they were in on something that the Vongola weren't. And that was never a good thing considering how far the fingers of Tsuna's networks could reach. They knew everything there was to know. But this problem had been confusing them for months and the pattern of the meetings taking place was something to be alarmed about.

They couldn't allow things to reach the stage they had gotten to before. Especially if their suspicions were correct and Byakuran was the one working behind the scenes.

Tsuna had no doubt that it was.

He brushed a thumb over one picture, forehead creasing as he bit his lip and stared down at it. They needed to get someone there to round up the man and drag him in. Maybe interrogation might get them something.

His eyes lingered on the scar over the man's eye.

No. Maybe it wouldn't.

Brown eyes hardened and Tsuna shuffled the pictures together, opening a drawer and taking an envelope from inside it. He thumbed the tab open and slid the photos in, satisfied when they hit the bottom of the envelope with a quiet 'thwack'.

He'd have to give orders to take him man out.

Infiltration at the moment wouldn't be a possible thing. Not with Mukuro still—

That smile flashed in his mind's eye, lingering for no more than a second. It was enough to make Tsuna pause again, his fingers pressing a little too hard into the envelope and creasing it.

He hadn't seen him since arriving at the house. Although they'd negotiated his release and managed to get him out after years of persistence, Mukuro was still under house arrest unless they got clearance from the Vendicare.

Tsuna frowned. It bothered him to have them watching the Vongola's movements twenty-four seven just to make sure that Mukuro didn't step out of line.

With Mukuro out the Vongola had also gained a few guests. Chikusa and Ken had been waiting for them already when Tsuna, Yamamoto and Gokudera arrived back at the house with Mukuro. Though they were constantly seen throughout the day—Chikusa usually making rude remarks about the mafia—Mukuro had remained hidden for the last two weeks.

Shaking his head, Tsuna dismissed those thoughts for now and finished putting the pictures away before leaving the office. Maybe if he was fast enough, Hibari would still be waiting. He grimaced as he realised that the chances of that were slim.

Hibari didn't wait for anyone.

Tsuna closed and locked the door behind him and strode down the carpeted hallway, the heavy colours that had once made him feel claustrophobic were now familiar. The dark wine curtains framed every floor to ceiling window of the corridor as he passed. The light that came in through them drifted over his face, adding touches of gold to his hair and an eerie brilliance to the light brown of his eyes as he strode past them.

His steps were quick and barely made any noise on the thick carpet, his hands were tucked into the pockets of his trousers. His blazer was still opened from when he'd started feeling too confined during the meeting, revealing the crisp white shirt beneath with its top three buttons open. He'd gotten rid of the tie too.

He reached the balcony that overlooked the grand stairs. They curved up to the other floors in elegant thick arcs of carpeted steps. Tsuna turned to take the next flight of stairs up to the third floor, his hand curving briefly over the smooth globe of wood at the foot of them before letting it slip away as he made his way up with quick steps.

The house was quiet with the majority of their family away from it. Ryohei was with Hana and the baby. Yamamoto had gone to see the Varia—and he might end up staying for a little extra time if Squalo was feeling receptive. Gokudera had gone to the Giglio Nero family and Kyoko and Haru were off at university and wouldn't be back until the holidays came around. Lambo and Bianchi were probably still too tired to even think about leaving their room and Spanner and Shouichi were spending the majority of the time locked in the lab with Giannini.

As for the newest addition to their family—well.

Tsuna reached the third floor and was about to continue down to the room Hibari occupied when staying over, when the sensation of eyes on his back hit him. He stiffened.

They'd made it clear to the Vendicare that they wouldn't tolerate them coming into Vongola grounds without their consent. Having his orders disobeyed didn't sit very well with Tsuna and when he looked over his shoulder at the higher staircases there was a quiet anger to the low lidded gaze and unsmiling mouth he faced them with.

He saw someone. But they were too high.

It was clear they weren't wearing the standard uniform of the Vendicare though and Tsuna frowned, turning now to be able to make them out properly. Squinting, he caught the gleam of light on long hair and—

He blinked and found himself staring at nothing.

Had it been...?

His eyes lingered on the now empty spot for a few more seconds before he turned away, hesitating as his brows drew closer and apprehension began to build between his shoulders just like it had on that day.

Then he turned away and walked the short distance to the last room on that floor.

The room was empty when he stepped inside it.

The low light of the bedside lamp threw soft shadows over the black sofa with its back to the door and wall. There was a blazer and tie tossed over its arm, trousers thrown over the perfectly made bed, a shirt crumpled beneath them. The door at the end of the room leading to the bathroom was open and Tsuna could hear the rush of the shower. There were curls of steam escaping through the open door, slipping into the cool air of the room only to dissipate into nothing.

Tsuna didn't sigh in relief but it was close. Instead he shrugged off his blazer and draped it carefully over the back of the sofa, toeing off his shoes as the sound of the shower was cut off. He looked at the door as he reached for the buttons on his shirt and watched as Hibari stepped out.

He had a black towel around his hips; his hair dripped as it clung to his forehead, his temples, his neck.

Hibari didn't even bother looking at him.

"You still have your clothes on." That was all he said.

"Erm... yeah, sorry," Tsuna's fingers stumbled over one another as they went from button to button until the shirt had parted and he was pulling it from his shoulders.

His stomach tensed when fingers, warm and damp from a hot shower brushed against his abdomen on their way to the fastening of his trousers.

Hibari's mouth went to the shoulder that Tsuna had just revealed and his teeth ground down on the firmness there, making Tsuna's breath hitch as he stepped closer and felt the drops of water from Hibari's hair fall onto his collarbone.

Tsuna let his shirt fall from his fingers to curl his hand around Hibari's hips, fingers pressing in just above the towel as he stepped closer and Hibari sank his teeth deeper into his skin.

Hibari's fingers finished with Tsuna's trousers and they slid inside, edging them lower to slide his fingers in and drag their way down Tsuna's ass.

"I hate waiting." Hibari muttered against Tsuna's skin. Hibari pushed at Tsuna, hands rougher than usual as they shoved until Tsuna's knees hit the edge of the bed and he fell back on it.

Tsuna looked up at him. "You don't want me to shower?"

Hibari scowled and lowered his hand to the towel, pulling it off and dropping it.

Tsuna pulled in a sharp breath as his gaze slid down the pale chest, the hard ridges—even now he couldn't look without blushing. "We should get some—"

He wasn't given the chance to finish. Tsuna was already used to the abruptness. But he no longer allowed himself to be dragged along. If he did then he was sure that this thing between them would've stopped a long time ago. So when Hibari straddled him, teeth biting into Tsuna's neck and fingers digging into Tsuna's ribs, Tsuna pushed a hand in between their bodies and enclosed Hibari's erection in a tight grip.

Hibari's hair brushed against his chin, the strands leaving damp paths on his skin. Tsuna reached up, fisting Hibari's hair as he started pumping the long length in his hand. The skin was soft to the touch, sliding over the hardness in a way that always made Tsuna want to tighten his grip that little bit more. Then Hibari's hand was sliding lower, sliding around to follow the dip of his spine, middle finger sliding into the crease at the top Tsuna's ass and using his entire palm to lift Tsuna off the mattress as he shifted above him and slid one leg between Tsuna's.

His breathing as always was still easy even as Tsuna's began to hitch when Hibari sucked painfully at the sensitive skin just under his chin. It made Tsuna hiss and grab his hair harder. Tsuna arched his neck, unintentionally giving Hibari more access even as he tried to tug him away as it stung.

He bucked up hard, one leg curling around Hibari's, the arch of his foot sliding over Hibari's calf. Hibari reached down and tugged Tsuna's hand away from his cock, his teeth replacing his tongue before he licked at the abused skin. Pinning Tsuna's hand to the mattress Hibari pushed his knees further apart, spreading Tsuna's legs more and then he bore down _hard_. The fingers that had been tugging at the black hair unclenched and spread over Hibari's scalp as Tsuna groaned, his throat vibrating against Hibari's lapping tongue.

Tsuna rocked up, the feeling of Hibari's erection rubbing along his making him want the friction even more. Perspiration was breaking out over his body, making his shoulders start to glisten.

"Nnnh... Hibari—" Tsuna wound his other leg around Hibari's hips, mouthing Hibari's ear and running his teeth over the edge as another rough grind down made his gasp. Another bite. This time it was on his collar bone, teeth grinding through skin against bone.

The sheets were clinging to Tsuna's back already, soaking up the dampness as it sprung up on his body. He tried to wrestle his hand from under Hibari's but Hibari was holding tight. His other hand slid down, slipping on the sweat on Hibari's back, his nails scouring the pale skin there. Hibari started on his jaw line, running his teeth along too hard for it to be a graze, all the time grinding against down, harder and harder.

Gritting his teeth and with another groan welling up, Tsuna twisted his hand from under Hibari's—arched his body off of the bed—tightening his legs, he pushed until they rolled and Hibari was beneath him. He sat up quickly, breathing hard and trying not to get distracted by the delicious feeling of rubbing up against Hibari.

Tsuna glanced down at Hibari, managing to straddle him properly and ignoring the discomfort of Hibari's hip bones digging into his inner thighs. His throat fell bruised and his mouth was dry, he passed his tongue over his lips, wetting them only for them to dry again just as quickly. Hibari was glancing up at him, face unreadable and clearly unimpressed. In fact the glare of silver told Tsuna that if he didn't make it interesting, the results wouldn't be all that pleasing.

So bracing his knees on the mattress Tsuna twisted away, stretching until his fingers could brush over the corner of the bedside table. Pulling the top drawer open he reached inside for the little half empty tube of lubricant and was shutting it when the pad of a thumb rubbed firmly across the slit of his erection. Tsuna jerked back with a low noise, his eyes screwing shut and his breath leaving him between locked teeth. Hibari's thumb continued to move over his cock, back and forth, back and forth.

Tsuna finally opened his eyes and focused on the lube. He squeezed some onto his fingers, rubbing it over them and flicking a look over Hibari as he tossed the small tube aside and reached back, the action making his back arch more until his own fingers were pressing against his entrance.

Hibari was watching him, silent and still but for the fingers still playing over Tsuna's erection. His hair had fallen onto his face and his cheeks had a flushed look to them that made Hibari look a little softer.

Lips pressing together Tsuna let his head fall forward as he pressed first one finger in, then another. His thighs clenched his belly quivered as he began working them in slowly, pushing them in and out.

Hibari's thumb was pressing against the head of his cock now, adding pressure and then pulling back, his other fingers lightly rubbing against the rest of Tsuna's cock.

Still breathing hard, Tsuna wiped the excess slipperiness on the sheets of the bed, lifting himself up off of Hibari and reaching for his erection. He caught the slight sucking in of Hibari's stomach at the contact and looked up quickly at Hibari's face to find that his eyes had closed.

Tsuna kept his eyes on Hibari's face as he lowered himself. He saw Hibari's lips part—just a little—when he felt Hibari's cock pressing at his hole, slipping a little on the lube before Tsuna pressed down and it began to stretch him open—pushing in and making Tsuna suck in a breath at the sting. It didn't matter how many times they did it, it was always uncomfortable the first time it went in. Tsuna had been lucky that Hibari wasn't that thick but as he continued to sink down, his thighs trembling from the control he was exerting, he felt it push deep and deeper. And by the time his ass was pressed against Hibari he was already shuddering, the tip of his erection dirtying Hibari's finger with pre-come.

He hadn't noticed his eyes had closed to as he breathed and let his body grow accustomed to fullness that was both foreign and familiar. But then hard fingers were locking around his hip and a hard thrust up from beneath him startled a loud cry from his mouth.

Hibari kept on moving, hips rolling up, his other hand stopping its casual stroking of Tsuna's cock to curve his fingers over the other hip and urge Tsuna down on him with more force. Tsuna curled forward. He placed his hands over Hibari's chest and moved them up, his palms passing over hard nipples and sharpness of bone until they were grabbing Hibari's shoulders. Tsuna began to push back, the shove of his hips as hard as Hibari's.

His head hung low, his eyes having closed again and his mouth twisted in a grimace that spoke of pleasure pain. The slap of skin could be heard clearly in the room. When a particularly sharp thrust hit him right _there_ , Tsuna's hand curled around Hibari's hair again and jerked it up.

As if retaliating against the insulting rough handling—no matter that he did worse—Hibari dug his fingers into Tsuna's skin and brought him down hard as he sat up. Tsuna yelled, something unintelligible his head snapped back and he rocked back and forth harder, a low and crude yes slipping out of his mouth. It didn't matter that Hibari sunk deeper and that he felt like he'd been forced wider. It didn't matter that Hibari's mouth was once again tearing at his throat because his own fingers were bruising, his blunt nails scraping across white sweaty skin to leave pink trails that turned darker after he left them.

Tsuna felt beads of sweat rolling down his back as he moved, his thighs beginning to ache as he sank down and lifted up.

It was when Hibari's teeth actually broke the skin of his shoulder that he came—his cock dragged over Hibari's stomach as Hibari thrust into him again and the added sensations just rolled into one. Tsuna's head snapped back but he didn't make anything but a low sound, hips jerking sporadically as he came, shuddering.

And if he hadn't come, the quiet almost denied moan that was delivered to his ear just seconds after Hibari sealed them close and buried himself to the hilt in him would've made him do so. Instead Tsuna just continued to shake, inner muscles clenching around the cock inside him.

His head fell forward, clammy skin sticking to clammy skin as he became dead weight.

Surprisingly Hibari waited until they'd fallen back onto the mattress to grunt and push him off. Tsuna just sighed as he felt Hibari slide out of him and allowed himself to be rolled onto the bed beside him.

He was still breathing hard. His cheek was pressed against the mattress, his hair trapped beneath it and making his cheek feel itchy. He stayed that way though, watching Hibari's profile as they lay there in silence.

Hibari's eyes had closed again and he too was breathing hard but it was quieter.

"Would you like me to go back to my room?" Tsuna asked after a bit.

Instead of replying Hibari opened his eyes to give him a side glare. Then he rolled as well so that Tsuna was left facing his back.

Tsuna suppressed his soft chuckle, turning his face into the mattress so that it was muffled.

That meant no.

~

Tsuna rested his head on his linked hands.

There was a weight in the pit of his stomach, growing bigger, weighing him down as he sat at his desk, his teeth grinding and making a muscle tic at his jaw.

In a replay of the discussion they'd had only the day before, Reborn, Hibari and Shouichi were before him.

"This is a good solution Tsuna. If we can't infiltrate then we'll need to get rid of him one way or another."

Tsuna looked up from his hands and his gaze locked on the man who seemed fine with what they were asking him to do.

In his mind he knew this made sense. Hibari never lost. Or hadn't since—

He leaned back in his chair, his expression sober as he kept his eyes on Hibari who stared back at him with his irritated silver gaze.

Tsuna could make this choice. It was easy as a leader to see the benefits of it so he could make it. But he didn't have to be all right with it and he didn't mind making it clear that he didn't like it.

He looked away from Hibari and stood from his desk.

He hated this.

"Fine. Hibari goes." He didn't care if Hibari didn't take orders. He'd have to suck it up and take them this time. "A week. I'm giving you a week." He didn't look at him as he said it. "Even if it's not done you have to come back. We don't know what this person is capable of."

Without looking at them again he walked out of the room.

He could make the choice because it seemed like the only one he could make.

He had nothing to prove that this would be a mistake. But that weight—that weight told him this _was_ one.

~

Two weeks later Yamamoto stepped into the room.

Tsuna pulled his eyes from Dino and Gokudera who sat in front of him and looked up at him expectantly.

Yamamoto's eyes were steady; his shoulders squared as he closed the door behind him and left his hand on the door handle.

"Hibari is missing."

~

Tsuna found his way down to the kitchen—not usually a place he'd hang around in unless his mother came over or Kyoko and Haru were staying.

His bare feet pressed against the cold tiles, careful to avoid table legs and counter corners. He didn't bother to turn the light on, just going by the lights from outside as they filtered into the place in pale strips of yellow. He hadn't bothered to dress either, just tossing a robe over himself and tying it around the waist.

His hair was still messed from when he'd been in bed. His eyes had been closed as he shifted around in the mattress again and again. Making his way around the big island in the middle of the big room Tsuna opened the door of the fridge.

He grabbed the milk and closed it again before the chill that poured out of the fridge could linger on his skin but after closing it he didn't move. He stood there, the milk hooked on the two fingers of his left hand—his other hand still on the old surface of the fridge.

There had been no word.

Gokudera had reported back with news that hadn't been good. Hibari had been there and there had been clear signs of a fight. That was all that they knew at the moment. There was no trace of Hibari, just as there was no trace of the other man but they had at least two people being brought in and he'd leave them in Bianchi's hands. Whatever they knew she'd get out of them faster than anyone else.

His hand curled into a fist on the fridge door and he thumped it against the door, the dull thud hardly registering. He uncurled the fist and rubbed at his eyes, frustration balling up in his chest and making his fingers tighten on the milk.

He took in a deep breath and let it out. He turned to set the milk on the counter while he got a mug.

He stopped. His hand froze, the bottom of the milk bottle just shy of touching the counter.

He hadn't seen him since he'd collected him from the prison. Or at least—Tsuna wasn't sure if he'd seen him or not. But there he was now. Sitting on the stool, chin resting on his hand, arm propped up on the counter. His body curved forward as his eyes stayed on Tsuna.

The darkness coloured his pale skin with a shadow, his eyes holding a glitter from where the light from outside touched them. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt but beyond that Tsuna couldn't see anything else.

Tsuna wasn't sure but it looked like he'd managed to fill out a little since the last time they'd seen each other. His hair was pulled back from his face and tied at the nape but it swept down his back, still too long,. Just it like it had been when Tsuna had seen him outside the gates. It made him wonder in a moment of stunned surprise, if the tips were brushing the floor at that moment.

The way that mouth tipped up at the edges didn't let Tsuna wonder much about anything anymore.

Tsuna set down the milk and swallowed. "Mukuro-san..."

"All alone Tsunayoshi-kun...?" Mukuro's lips were a dark blue in the dark as they moved, forming the syllables if Tsuna's name. His chin shifted on his hand but he didn't make any move to straighten. Instead Mukuro remained sitting at the table, that sinister elegance that clung to every part of him so much louder in the darkness.

The mismatched eyes didn't move from Tsuna and that smile lingered on Mukuro's face even after his greeting words had been spoken.

Tsuna became aware of the cold silence of the house as he stared back. Not too soon after, as if sensing his sudden discomfort at the lack of noise, he became aware of the sound of the trees outside as the breeze swept over them. Tsuna couldn't see, but he could hear the shifting of the leaves in the garden just outside the house's kitchen. The clock, the tick barely loud enough to make it to the open door of the kitchen but managing to reach it anyway.

All of those little sounds just made the silence thicker.

Despite those eyes not having moved from his face, Tsuna managed to drag up a smile for the man sitting on the opposite side of that island.

"Everyone's been looking forward to seeing you better Mukuro-san."

His eyes never blinked. The smile on his face widened. "Have they?"

Tsuna's smiled remained in place. But he was sure Mukuro could see through it. It was what Mukuro was best at.

Seeing through things that weren't real.

He nodded and went over to the cupboard to pull out a mug. "I guess... some more than others—but they're just wary. They'll get used to it," he opened the door and scanned the inside, eyes passing over the neat rows of black mugs and reaching in to pull one out, "how are Chikusa and Ken? I haven't seen them—"

"Do you feel safe turning your back to me Tsunayoshi-kun?"

Tsuna brought down the mug and closed the cupboard door with a calm hand. It bothered him more than he was willing to say, how much Mukuro made him feel uneasy even after all these years. It wasn't fear. Tsuna felt certain enough of his own growth.

He wouldn't have chanced turning his back on Mukuro otherwise.

"You should rest some more Mukuro-san, I don't think you've fully recovered yet—"

A stream of air touched the back of his neck, soft and warm as it slid down his skin until its path was blocked by the collar of Tsuna's robe.

Slim fingers touched Tsuna's throat. They brushed their way down over his Adam's apple and the smallest dipped into the hollow at the base there to scoop its way gently out again. Then that hand spread, flattening to his throat as the fingers curled around it and with careful strength forced Tsuna to dip his head back a little.

Something ruffled his hair and made its way from his head to brush over the curve of his ear.

"Hmm... I've been recovered for quite some time," the quiet vibration of the words rasped at the delicate shells of Tsuna's ear and it was through force of will that not one shiver left him.

But as his hand lifted to curl around the hand that gripped his throat. He couldn't avoid the hard bite of his fingers as they locked around Mukuro's hand.

He'd grown—but didn't mean he was comfortable with someone else's hand at his throat. Especially not the one wrapped around it right now.

"I'm glad you're feeling better Mukuro-san," he murmured and was surprised when the hand came away from his throat without resistance, "do you want some milk as well? It might help you sleep a little better if you're..."

His words drifted off into silence when he stepped back and Mukuro didn't move to give him space. It brought him up against a warm if too thin body.

Tsuna was still shorter than him. He could feel the press of Mukuro's nose against the back of his head.

"You know Tsunayoshi-kun... I had recovered by the time you sent Hibari Kyouya away."

Tsuna flicked a look over his shoulder, encountering a gaze which seemed perpetually amused by everything around it but always unwilling to share the joke.

The intimacy in the press of their bodies shook him but Tsuna didn't look away.

That smile was still there.

"Maybe you should've come to me then and asked... I might have helped and then one of your Guardians wouldn't be missing..."

The look Tsuna aimed up at him was sharp. "Maybe, but you're under house arrest Mukuro-san."

Tsuna saw the smirk even in the darkness. "I think we've had proof enough up until now to know that walls aren't enough to keep me anywhere, don't you think Vongola Tenth?"

The use of his title made him grit his teeth and he shrugged away the weight that had been increasing against his back with every word. "I think you should go back to your room and rest."

"Hmmm... so you're not going to ask."

"Ask—"

But just like that, the warmth of the body that had been pressed to his disappeared and the kitchen was once more empty of anyone but himself.

Tsuna looked down at the mug his other hand had been wrapped around.

His knuckles were white.

~

Black had soaked into the cracked walls. The room had been blown apart, not one piece of it left in what had once been a luxury apartment overlooking the city.

Now the apartment was gone.

Tsuna looked around him. He'd already loosened his tie and his blazer was tucked between his arm and his side as the sun hit him full on the face. He squinted, trying to keep the majority of it out even as he felt the heat pool on the back of his head, sliding down to his temples to pulse there.

"Tenth..."

Tsuna's head jerked up and he turned, stepping back into torn and charred carpeting whose previous colour could no longer be determined.

His eyes met with Gokudera's grim expression, he saw the apology on the man's face even though he knew there was nothing that could really be done. Gokudera always tried his best at everything he did and if he hadn't found anything then it was because there was nothing to be found.

"I know..." he sighed and turned back to the place before him, "but he was definitely here. No parts were found so he was either taken or he was wounded enough to have to find an emergency hideout."

Gokudera came to stand beside him, like Tsuna he was trying to find any clues that he could. The extent of the damage that the fire had dealt to the place though, had made sure that anything they could take away, was minimal.

"Or," Gokudera murmured, frowning as he tried to work it out, "there were enough of the enemy that even after this, he couldn't return and was forced to hide because of it."

Tsuna shook his head. "I don't know. If that had happened, he would've sent Hibird to us." He lifted his fingers to rub at the ache starting at his temples, his shoulders slumping. They were turning out blanks everywhere they searched.

"Let's go back," Tsuna murmured, "maybe Yamamoto has sent news ahead—or Dino."

Gokudera nodded, worried eyes focused on Tsuna's back as he followed him down the stairs which had by some miracle survived the fight that had gone on there. The door that had lead to that flight of stairs hadn't though. Neither had the wall it had been attached to.

The neighbourhood around them was strangely quiet as they descended.

The sound of blinds being drawn up echoed through the narrow cobbled street; the sound of water as it was splashed over a wall or tossed through a window to land on the outside floor. The buzz of a scooter grated on the nerves but by the time they reached the ground floor everything was quiet again.

The gleaming black car with its tinted windows looked out of place on the small street where clothes hung from clotheslines and dripped—the pattern repeated until it almost seemed like decorating banners. The walls were peeling as were the majority of the doors. A rickety bike leaned against one wall and further ahead an abandoned dog loped its way down the street, side rubbing against the wall as if he were trying to make himself as invisible as possible. Tsuna wasn't paying attention although he could feel the eyes on the back of his head. Probably the residents peering from behind their curtains, wondering what more damage the mafia had come to deal to their little corner.

This was one of the things he still couldn't help regretting. The fact that even after he had kept the loyalty of his guardians and established that with all its members the Vongola were one of the most powerful mafia families—they still couldn't prevent other people who had nothing to do with them, from paying the price for their battles.

Tsuna beat Gokudera to the back door of the car, already used to the way that Gokudera's attentiveness went beyond the norm. He opened the door and swung one leg inside, scooting inside to make room for Gokudera to slide in on the opposite side. He waited until Gokudera was in to close the door.

Reaching for the door handle, Tsuna cast one last look up at the destroyed place, his lips set and his eyebrows drawn low in regret over the damage as well as the lack of help visiting it had provided. But as he was about to close it, that's when he spotted it.

Right there in broad day light, and on a corner of the roofless place, was an owl. The white of its wings was blinding from the sunlight that hit them from above, it made Tsuna struggle to make sure that it _was_ an owl. But as he stared for a bit longer, he saw that it was. And if he wasn't mistaken it was looking right at him.

Tsuna's hand tightened on the door handle and he swallowed.

Was it him?

"Tenth?"

Tsuna's gaze jerked away from the owl and he resisted the urge to hiss as when he tried to look at Gokudera, his vision was hindered by spots mimicking the brightness of the sun. He closed his eyes and shook his head as if to get rid of them. "Sorry Gokudera... I saw..." he opened his eyes again and looked out at the spot so that Gokudera would see what he was looking at.

"Saw what?"

The ache that had been building at his temples seemed to intensify when Tsuna found the spot empty.

He looked away and pulled the door shut, and then he reclined against the seat and sighed.

"I don't know Gokudera. Maybe I didn't see anything."

As the car pulled away from the side of the street, the sound of the engine drowned out the sound of flapping wings.

~

They hadn't had a meeting like this in quite some time.

Tsuna leaned back in his chair, not surprised by Reborn's presence on his other side. His fedora was tipped down and his head was inclined so that his face wasn't visible. Tsuna briefly wondered if he was sleeping.

He wouldn't put it past Reborn to do that.

Gokudera sat to his right and the chair to Tsuna's left which was usually filled by Yamamoto, was empty. He still hadn't returned from meeting with the Varia and though they knew he was fine though they hadn't heard from him yet.

Still. Even with the empty seats of two of his Guardians, the room was full. Even Spanner and Shouichi had come out of the lab for this. Chrome had also left Mukuro's side to attend and sat between Lambo and Ryohei.

"I've spoken to the Cavallone," he began, "I'll be meeting with Dino possibly at the end of this week. He's been doing some investigating on our behalf so hopefully by then he'll have something." His eyes swept the faces before him. "Meanwhile, I hate to say this but we're two Guardians short. I want security doubled for friends and family members. We have no idea what intentions these people have and we can't leave ourselves vulnerable, so until Yamamoto and..." his eyes flickered and landed on the empty chair right at the end of table on the right hand side, "Hibari return, we'll have to pay more attention than usual."

"Stupid Tsuna."

Tsuna looked over at Reborn in surprise. He was still as relaxed in the chair as when the meeting had started.

"Erm... Reborn..."

"You should always be on alert. Or do you forget how many enemies you have?"

Tsuna's lips twitched at the familiarity of the scolding and wondered if this was Reborn's way of trying to make him feel better. In a subconscious reaction that he hadn't been able to shake from his younger years, Tsuna gave a sheepish smile and scratched at his head.

"Ah—erm I didn't mean it like that Reborn."

Reborn just snorted again and then seemed to go back into his silent—sleeping?—state.

Putting jokes aside, Tsuna settled back in his chair, taking a moment to organize his thoughts. The problem that a missing Hibari created wasn't just a hole in the Vongola force. This proved that their suspicions were correct and Tsuna had been right to keep his eyes on the scarred man.

To be able to do any kind of damage to a fighter of Hibari's level...

Tsuna's lashes swept low as his gaze dulled, features setting into serious lines as gut instinct urged him to take out the threat to his family. That same instinct that was telling him to find his Cloud Guardian as soon as possible.

It never occurred to him that Hibari was dead.

Tsuna knew he wasn't.

He looked up at that waiting people in the room and then turned to Gokudera. "Gokudera, what did Lilly say—" he was interrupted by the opening of the door and Tsuna wasn't the only one who threw a frowning look at it.

Everyone knew that the meetings weren't to be interrupted. And there had never been an interruption ever since Tsuna had taken over as the Tenth.

Even Reborn glanced up from beneath the rim of his fedora. But any reprimand that had been ready to leave Tsuna's mouth was stalled when he saw the person that was stepping into the room.

The dark blue strands just missed being caught in the door as Mukuro closed it behind him. They fell back against the black leather of the boots he wore, slipping over them for just a second before drifting back as without even acknowledging the other Guardians, Mukuro headed towards the seat at the end of the furthest end of the table. The seat Hibari always took.

Chrome was the only one who watched Mukuro with a small smile on her face until he reached the chair.

As his hand touched the back of the chair, Mukuro allowed his gaze to slide over to Tsuna. His lips tipped up before he dipped his head down as he pulled the chair back. Strands of his hair had escaped the tie holding the rest together at his nape and slipped forward to whisper against the curve of his jaw. He sat down, making himself comfortable. He leaned back on the chair, brushing the hair back from his face and leaving the longer strands to rest against his shoulder.

The silence remained, disturbed only by the ticking of a clock—a car rolling up outside, wheels turning over gravel.

Tsuna's eyes were still on Mukuro. He waited until Mukuro had settled, shaking off the sense that he didn't belong in that seat.

Mukuro looked back up. Again that amusement that was exclusive only to him was obvious there.

"Mukuro-san," Tsuna said, "I'm glad you could attend but next time please try to be here from the start."

Mukuro's closed smile widened and his eyes crinkled. "Should I apologise for being late?"

"Yes." The answer was short and brutal and it came from Gokudera.

Without looking away, Tsuna touched a hand to Gokudera's shoulder. "No, we're glad to have you back Mukuro-san."

A sound escaped from the smiling lips which could have passed for a chuckle but Tsuna couldn't be sure. He watched as the dual coloured eyes swept the faces in the room and then came back to rest on his. "Hmm... yes, I can feel everyone's overwhelming sense of welcome."

Tsuna chose to ignore the sarcasm as he saw that it was just winding up the people who really didn't appreciate his presence there.

Reborn was watching Mukuro closely as well.

"I see your little Cloud Guardian is still lost..." Mukuro said, the smooth sound of his voice making it sound like he was just voicing his thoughts.

The tension which had been piling on with the brief but stark silences between their exchange swelled as the others continued to observe the unique conversation. It had been a long time since they had seen Mukuro.

It didn't matter that he had just come from years of confinement, that physically he should be weakened and resting. It made no difference because as he sat there with his sardonic gaze on Tsuna's face and lifting elegant legs to place first one, then another foot to cross on the table—Mukuro still had the unmistakable air of a man surrounded by power and confidence. And no one in the room had forgotten what he'd once used those things for.

"No, we haven't found Hibari yet but that was what we were discussing."

"Anything I can do to help...?"

Tsuna wasn't sure what it was that gave him the impression that there was a taunt in Mukuro's tone but he was sure he'd heard it. But then he hadn't, because Reborn too had looked at Mukuro as the words were spoken.

One blue eye and one red. They were steady and didn't waver once as Tsuna frowned at him.

"When the time comes for us to take action," Tsuna spaced his words as he chose them with care, "then your help would be appreciated."

Mukuro inclined his head. "Then when that time comes... just ask me Tsunayoshi-kun..."

 _'Hmmm... so you're not going to ask.'_

'Ask—'

Tsuna stared as the words from the other night echoed in the back of his mind, reminding him of the unexpected encounter that had left him restless.

 _Did_ Mukuro know something?

Tsuna shook his head to himself, unaware of the looks of worry the action drew from his Guardians as his gaze fell to the table. His eyes traced and retraced the pattern on the surface of the smooth wood. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to work out if it was possible.

But it wasn't was it? Mukuro hadn't left the premises and although that wasn't a necessary thing for Mukuro to be able to leave—at least when it came to physically leaving—even if he had left that way, Mukuro hadn't known about their investigations and wouldn't have had a motive to look into anything.

No. Mukuro couldn't know anything.

But when he looked up and found the amused eyes focused on his face and that familiar secretive smirk there, Tsuna felt sure that between the two of them, the only one that didn't know something was himself.

~

Tsuna was still tired as he dragged himself out of bed, leaving the sheets in frustrated wrinkles of someone who hadn't slept the whole night.

He had slept.

In fits and starts.

Tsuna pulled on the robe as he went, the cold touching his skin and denying the warmth that the light pouring in from the balcony doors, promised. As his slow steps brought him closer to the doors, he could see that the small round table had already been set out with breakfast and he wondered if he could actually get some of it down his throat.

Dinner the night before hadn't gone well. Not with that same gaze narrowed on him all of the time.

Mukuro had taken to joining the others now.

Tsuna was sure it had nothing to do with a new found need to make friends with all of them. He couldn't believe that when Mukuro's idea of making conversation with the other Guardians was really pretty words coated in mockery and sarcasm. He did it so well though, that if one wasn't paying attention, they could become trapped in the silky tone and come to believe anything those smirking lips spoke.

Tsuna rubbed at his forehead. The throb that had made itself known on and off over the last few weeks was once more pulsing at his temples and he knew from experience that pain killers weren't going to get rid of it.

As he opened the door, Tsuna noticed that someone was already there before him. And as his bare feet stepped out onto cool concrete, he poked his head through to find that it was Reborn. He was in one of the chairs, a newspaper blocking his face from view as he read it.

"Good morning." Tsuna mumbled as he made his way to the empty chair on the other side of the table.

"You're falling into old habits. Wake up earlier tomorrow or you'll be waking up to my boot kicking you off the bed." Reborn said by way of greeting. He didn't even bother to look up from behind the newspaper.

Tsuna winced at the threat and made a mental note to find a new alarm clock. He'd broken the other one by accident two mornings ago when he'd wanted to sleep for an extra five minutes.

The sound of the lapping water beneath slid up the walls of the mansion to fill the silence around them. The breeze was stronger at the height of the balcony and it pushed and tugged at the newspaper, the crackling of it a sharp and ugly sound when pitted against that of the waves.

Tsuna's gaze dropped to the small table and his eyes roamed over the fruit, butter and jars of jam. There was a small basket with fresh bread, covered with a pristine white dish towel and a metal container with a crystal lid through which he could see the meatier options. The smell of prosciutto and coffee overpowered the salty scent of the sea and Tsuna's stomach gave an answering lurch.

Glancing over at Reborn's half empty cup of coffee and the crumbs on his plate, Tsuna didn't bother asking if Reborn wanted anything else and just went about buttering some bread for himself, stuffing it with a thin slice of prosciutto and pouring himself some coffee.

Then he leaned back in his chair and looked out at the stunning view of endless water sparkling under the morning sun. Letting the comfortable silence between them, remain.

When Tsuna was buttering his second piece of bread and pouring himself another coffee, Reborn folded the newspaper and dropped it on the table, picked up his own coffee and held it out for Tsuna to top it up.

"You're tired. If you haven't been sleeping you should visit Shamal. The Vongola don't need a careless Boss."

Tsuna flicked a look up at Reborn and then went back to paying attention to the hot liquid. When he was done with refilling Reborn's coffee, he put the rest down and sighed, allowing his mouth to tug down at the corners and as he leaned back and picked up his own.

"I've... been wondering what we're missing." He looked down into the black liquid, feeling the twists of steam drift up to curl against his chin before disappearing. "And when I go to bed I can't seem to switch off."

Reborn shrugged and crossed his legs. His cool black eyes watched Tsuna, noting the tension that kept the shoulders rigid even when they were slumped. "It's a side effect of having a personal relationship with one of your Guardians and one you'll have to get used to. You have to separate them."

A self mocking chuckle escaped Tsuna and he shook his head. "You shouldn't say that to Hibari. He won't like it that someone was implying he had an attachment to anything."

"Hibari knows what this is. He's not stupid. Although you're right," Reborn acknowledged that with an inclination of his head, "he'll never say it or want to have it said."

Tsuna lifted one shoulder in a shrug and then let it drop. It wasn't something that was bothering him right at that moment.

"At the moment I'm not concerned with Hibari." Reborn said.

"You're not?" Tsuna asked, glancing up at him, eyebrows lifted in disbelief.

"Isn't he alive?"

Tsuna paused before answering. Then he firmed his mouth. "He is."

Reborn gave him a cool look which said he'd already known that was going to be Tsuna's answer. "What I'm here to discuss has to do with one of your other Guardians."

Tsuna became still and for some reason the silence then seemed deeper than when he'd just been enjoying his breakfast. The breeze rushed through the balcony, making the pages of the folded newspaper flap and his hair rush forward to brush against his jaw.

"You mean Mukuro."

"I mean Mukuro." Reborn nodded.

Tsuna looked up. "Has he done something he's not supposed to? I know having him here isn't enough to keep him from venturing outside." He looked out at the glitter of the sun on the sea and ignored the harsh current of air as it cut over his cheek.

"Not that I know of. But I'd like you to be more careful around him. Though he's been imprisoned for some time, you can't say that his characters changed. You were his target once before."

Tsuna nodded. "I know..." he spoke his words on a quiet tone, "Reborn—I get the feeling he knows something." _That he wants something._

"That's possible but unless he says anything we won't know."

"But if he knows something... and he isn't saying it then what..." Tsuna shook his head and glanced down at the coffee in his hand which was slowly cooling against the palm of his hands, "is he waiting for me to ask? It's just—I always feel like he's playing a game and that he doesn't share the rules with the players..."

" If he doesn't want to share then he won't until whatever he feels is needed, has been given. Mukuro isn't the type to help others out of the goodness of his heart. o if you want something for him, find a way of getting it."

Tsuna sighed and looked up to Reborn's expressionless face as he finished the last bit of his coffee.

"Yeah. I think that's what I'll need to do."

What bothered Tsuna was that he wasn't sure that he'd appreciate whatever that would entail.

~

"Mukuro-san?"

The rapping of Tsuna's knuckles on the heavy wooden door made a sharp sound as they connected.

He wondered if it was his imagination or if the light in this particular corridor really was lower. The curtains that were identical to the ones framing all the windows in each corridor were drawn instead of letting in the light. The heavy cinnamon coloured material blocked out everything, leaving only the low corridor light to mark the way to the double doors at the end of the corridor.

There was no sound coming from beyond those doors which Tsuna found odd. Gokudera had complained that the noise level had increased since Chikusa and Ken had come to join Mukuro. Although they had their own room they spent most of their time inside Mukuro's.

For reasons he couldn't understand, Tsuna didn't like the feeling of being there. Standing outside the tall doors, the backs of his fingers still against the cool door he couldn't rationalize the need to turn around and leave.

There was a voice inside his head which hadn't shut up since the day he'd gotten Mukuro under his roof.

A voice that told him that he was making a mistake. That it was better to turn away and find an alternative.

But that voice went against the one that told him without a question of a doubt. that to get anywhere, then going through the doors in front of him was the way to go.

Making up his mind, Tsuna shook his head and curled his fingers around the door knob, the cool brass chilling the skin of his palm as he twisted it and the door swung inward.

Just like the corridor, the room was dark. The curtains weren't as heavy inside the room and the ones leading outside to the suite's balcony blew in, the material ballooning as the breeze from outside swept it up high before letting it drift back down to whisper over the floor boards.

His eyes swept the rest of the room as he closed the door behind himself, letting his hands rest flat against the panes of the door.

It was cooler too. Apart from the doors leading out to the balcony, all the windows had been pushed open. Apart from him, the room was empty. The futon in the room had clothes thrown over the back of it. The cushions, the same colour as the curtains, had fallen or been pushed off the futon and were pressed against the bottom of it, three of them on top of each other in an untidy pile.

The bed was at the furthest part of the room, the huge four poster that had been placed in every room would've looked more appealing if it weren't for the sheets that were half torn off of the bed and the rumpled duvet that was bunched to one site. The pillows had completely disappeared from the bed too.

Tsuna made his way into the room, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck as his eyes were drawn once more to the billowing curtains.

It was when he was half way into the room that the gurgling sound of a tub being filled reached his ears. They were mere traces of noise which had his head jerking up, his eyes narrowed as he looked to the door that was on the other side of the bed. It was closed and it wasn't letting much of the light from inside it out. That's why it had taken Tsuna a little longer to notice the little line of yellow beneath it.

He wondered for a second if he should just wait for a later time or go ahead and knock on it. But then from the way his stomach felt as if it had sank the moment he'd stepped into the room, Tsuna wasn't sure he'd want to go away and then get up the nerve to come back here again.

What puzzled him was that it had nothing to do with fear. It was discomfort.

Mukuro made him uncomfortable in a way that no one else had managed and Tsuna had never been sure of how to deal with that because he didn't know the reason for it. If he had known then he would've dealt with it some time ago.

But that wasn't the case.

Sighing he made his way across the room and to the closed door of the en suite bathroom in the bedroom.

The muffled sound of the water got that little bit louder as he got closer and he continued, reaching out for the knob and wetting his lips which had gone as dry as his mouth. Tsuna gave a quick knock on that door too before opening it a little.

"Mukuro-san?" He didn't step in but opened the door enough that he could peek in. The brightness of the room compared to the eerie dark he'd just crossed made him blink several times to be able to see everything without wincing.

What he saw was Mukuro sitting on the side of the tub. His face was turned away from the direction of the door and it seemed like he was looking at the water that was rising in the tub.

Tsuna straightened and didn't notice when he pushed the door open a bit further, taking a step into the room. He watched the graceful fingers that were playing their tips over the surface of the water, making twisting patterns and adding to the disruptive ripples that spread across it from the constant stream of water..

Something darkened to black snaked over the surface of the water and tangled around the playing fingers as if were a living breathing creature. Tsuna realised that it was Mukuro's hair that had fallen in. Some of it was resting on his chest, having split off from the rest, but the majority was down his back and it poured from the lip of the tub and into the water.

Mukuro himself was still clothed. He was bare footed despite the fact that the floor tiles were no doubt cold to the touch. He wore pale blue jeans that moulded themselves to his thighs and calves and a loose black t-shirt.

"Erm... I knocked several times but there was no answer so I came in." Tsuna paused when there was no reaction. Mukuro didn't even turn around to face him. "I'm sorry I came in without permission. I-is everything okay?"

Mukuro's head lifted a little, the movement a little jerky. "Hmm?"

"Er..." Tsuna looked away and stepped back, not sure what was going on. "I can come back another ti—"

"Do you like water Tsunayoshi-kun?"

Tsuna stopped in his retreat and looked up, forehead wrinkling in confusion. "I... suppose. I like to swim...?" He offered and then resisted the urge to hit his head against the doorframe at how lame he sounded. "Yes, I like water." He shifted his gaze to the water that was just a few inches from reaching the very top of the tub. It would spill over if Mukuro didn't close the tap. "You should close the tap or it'll spill..."

From where he stood, Tsuna thought he saw Mukuro's mouth curve.

"You don't think it's deceptive?"

Tsuna blinked. "The water? In what way?" He wondered if Mukuro was aware that this was one of the oddest conversations he'd ever had.

"It's deceptive." As he spoke, Mukuro's fingers slid deeper into the water, continuing their rhythmic motions. "It looks harmless."

It was the tone of the words, as if Mukuro thought Tsuna was no longer in the room with him and was talking to himself, that made Tsuna close the distance between them, a tentative hand reaching to touch his arm.

"Mukuro-san are you o—"

"Like now for instance. You think you're safe with me." Mukuro murmured and the hand that had been resting against his thigh lifted to close around Tsuna's, trapping it against the arm that Tsuna touched. The slim fingers curled tight around his hand, making Tsuna jerk in surprise. "Maybe because we're not alone in this place. Maybe because this is your home... there's safety in that don't you think?"

"I don't know what you're trying to say," Tsuna said, frowning as he looked down at Mukuro. He still hadn't seen his face and it didn't look like Mukuro was going to be looking at him any time soon. "Is there something bothering you?"

Mukuro's shoulders shook with the chuckle that he let out then. His hand remained on Tsuna's, the grip tightening that little bit more. "Who knows?"

Tsuna's gaze went back to the water as it occurred to him that maybe Mukuro really did have some trouble with it.

He'd spent years locked in place by nothing other than his restraints and the water surrounding every part of him.

"You still haven't asked me..."

Tsuna stilled. "Why do you keep saying that?" His fingers had gone stiff between the hands that clamped them to the warm skin of Mukuro's arm. In the back of his mind, Tsuna mused that he had expected Mukuro's skin to be cold.

"I'm not safe at all Tsunayoshi-kun."

Tsuna wasn't sure what prompted him to ask but all of a sudden it was if the air around him shifted—changing, it was like it had been stirred and forced into rippling against his skin. There was a touch of power to it that hadn't been there when he'd entered and it bathed his face almost like a caress.

When he looked at Mukuro he found that he wasn't looking at Mukuro at all.

His eyes widened, surprise and instinct momentarily overrode language as Tsuna jerked his hand from under the other man's and stepped back, shock written all over his features as he stared at the face and body which belonged to Hibari.

The familiar silver eyes stared back at him, as dispassionate as they usually were. The form fitting black suit was perfect as he sat there looking just as he always did. Like his patience was about to run out.

"Wha—" Tsuna shook his head and screwed his eyes shut, "what—" He opened them again and found that the image of Hibari wasn't there anymore. _Mukuro_ was standing in front of him now. His hand was no longer in the water and he was too close—

He was tall—had always been taller.

He was standing close enough to block the light from the ceiling. He was smiling, his head inclined to one side as he watched Tsuna as if he were an amusing puzzle that he wanted to play with. "Did you see something you liked Tsunayoshi?"

"Don't do that—"

Mukuro stepped closer and then it wasn't Mukuro that was placing his hands on his hips and tugging him forward into a familiar scent and body. It wasn't Mukuro that was lacing his fingers through his hair and curling fingers into it; tugging his head back.

Hibari was taller than him too.

One of the hands lifted and curved around his jaw with an ease that was disconcerting because it was done in the same way that Hibari would've done but this was—this wasn't—

Tsuna grabbed fist full's of the lapels of Hibari's—Mukuro's—of—

He closed his eyes again as he smelled _Hibari_ , as he felt _Hibari's_ clothes in his fists. "Stop that." He ordered, his voice firm but the indecision painted all over his face a clear indication that he was feeling anything but.

This was Mukuro playing his little game that no one understood. He was playing with him. The person in front of him was Mukuro.

"Not safe." The words were whispered a mere breath away from his mouth and had Tsuna's eyes flashing open. And as the warm lips touched his, with that scent in his head, with his fists gripping tight and pulling closer, the pressure that had been building over the past few weeks made him weaken and accept the fake token. Because he stepped closer. Because he opened his mouth.

Because he kissed back.

And when he did, the scent changed. The lapels thinned in his hands into the flimsy material of a t-shirt and soft strands brushed his cheeks with the touch of the softest fingers. The body that moved back and made him stumble after it wasn't the one he'd been about to push away seconds before.

No. The hand on his hair tightened, and the hand on his hip sealed his body from chest to thigh against another's—Tsuna was very well aware that the person he was kissing was not Hibari.

The tongue that probed into his mouth was not Hibari's. The long silky strands that he released the t-shirt in favour of were not Hibari's.

 _Not_ Hibari.

His breath came out heavy the way it did when he drank too fast after training—the way it did when he slid himself down on Hibari while their mouths were locked together. His legs parted the same way for the thigh that pressed between them and rubbed up. It made his body shudder as warmth licked at his stomach and then made its way lower down as teeth rasped over his bottom lip.

Tsuna's hands were wrapped in long hair and tugging at the back of the t-shirt even as he pressed closer.

Then Tsuna felt his right foot slip as he tried to brace himself to rub himself against the thigh between his legs. His hands let go of the hold it had on the long hair but it was wrapped around his fingers. He braced his hand on a taller shoulder; the strands still wrapped around his fingers.

Long fingers slid beneath his own clothes rubbing against the flat plane of his stomach even as he stumbled forward again, slipping once more. The body against his jerked once and then the hands on him were dragging him down as they fell—

The body beneath his twisted and his elbow smashed against something hard. His head slammed into a shoulder and his ankle hit something sharp, the pain spiking up his knee. The combination of pain and the cold water soaking into his clothes fast, made Tsuna's eyes open. He found himself blinking at the mismatched eyes staring up at him.

The smile was there, on Mukuro's mouth and his eyes.

His whole body was submerged in the icy water but his arms were firmly wrapped around Tsuna. They held Tsuna against him. Mukuro's hair floated around them, decorating the surface like vines.

Tsuna's skin was slowly numbing from the water, it was up to his elbows and his jeans were completely drenched. Goosebumps were rising all over his skin but he couldn't look away from that face.

A hand slid up the centre of his back, travelling up the wet material of his t-shirt and dragging it up with it as it made its way to the back of Tsuna's neck. There it curled, exerting small pressure and encouraging him to lower his mouth into the warmth that spilled from Mukuro's.

"Don't you think...?"

Tsuna blinked. He pulled back a little under the pressure of the hand on his nape. "What...?"

Mukuro rose up, taking the arm that had been wrapped around Tsuna to support himself and hitch himself a little higher. The water was dripping off of his shoulders and his mouth was at Tsuna's ears.

"Illusions are just like water..."

Against him, Tsuna froze. It was as if he finally felt the cold. He started trembling and his hands threatened to slip where they'd sought purchase on the bottom of the tub. He stared at the white of the tub and the water that lapped at it in small gentle waves.

"Deceptive."

Tsuna pushed away from Mukuro in a rush, almost crashing to the floor when he lost his balance struggling to his feet. His trainers were slipping against the curved edges of the full tub and there was nothing to steady him.

He slapped a hand onto the wall as he turned to step out, avoiding looking at Mukuro who still reclined in the water with his gaze trained on Tsuna's face.

He almost slipped again when his feet hit the floor and it was only his hands that kept him from slamming face first into it when he skidded and went down. But he didn't slow down just pushing himself to his feet again. His hand grabbed for the door and jerked it open.

His heart was beating so hard against his chest and his eyes were wide but he didn't notice anything. He just wanted to get out of there.

"Didn't you come here..."

Tsuna stopped despite it all; hand still on the door and streaming water onto the floor. Why did that voice still make him stop?

"... To ask me something?"

Tsuna stepped out and slammed the door shut behind him.

~

It'd been a while since Tsuna had been received by Dino in the Cavallone's home but the warm smiles he received remained the same. It was proof of just how good the situation between the two families really was.

He followed the smiling maid who was batting her lashes at Lambo. On the other side Bianchi snorted, her face half hidden by the huge goggles and commented that she'd much rather prefer her Reborn. The antics brought a smile to Tsuna's face as he walked a little further behind them.

It helped him forget for a moment that Mukuro and Gokudera were behind him.

With what had happened with Hibari, Tsuna's suggestions of the family being extra careful had been agreed on by Reborn and now they had taken to travelling in groups. And even though they'd left the mansion Ryohei, Basil and Chrome had stayed to hold the fort.

Tsuna's hands were tucked into the pockets of the custom made grey suit. Over the years Tsuna had come to like the feel and ease of the suit just as much as he liked his jeans and t-shirts. It added to his peace of mind when he felt comfortable in what he wore. And at times like these it helped him remember his position in this world that he hadn't come into of his own volition.

Tsuna wondered if things would have been different in his encounter with Mukuro that day, if he'd been wearing something that reminded him that he was the Vongola boss.

Something told him that it wouldn't have.

The smile faded from his lips and his eyes dropped to the shining dark wood of corridor.

He didn't understand why Reborn had insisted Mukuro come along for this. It had resulted in a tense silence in the car that had made things even harder. Gokudera didn't like Mukuro and Lambo wasn't that happy about having to travel with him either. Bianchi had ignored them all and when Lambo and Gokudera had started bickering, that had left Tsuna with Mukuro's gaze on him the entire time.

They'd been sitting across from each other and Mukuro's long legs had taken more than their space as the Mist Guardian had slouched down in the seats. When Tsuna had looked up he'd had to fight down traces of panic that hadn't quite left from their last meeting. Mukuro's knee pressing against his had been deliberate. The leg that Mukuro had slid between Tsuna's so that he bracketed the knee had also been deliberate. It's what had made Tsuna look up at him properly for the first time since that day.

"You look... worried Tsunayoshi..." the smooth words had broken the conversation (argument) between Gokudera and Lambo even as they made Tsuna inch back on the seats, trying to dislodge the press of Mukuro's legs against his.

"I'm fine, thank you." And he'd looked away.

"This way please."

The giggled invitation broke Tsuna's thoughts and he looked up to realise that Lambo and Bianchi had gotten quite a bit ahead of him and Gokudera and Mukuro were now either side of him. He kept himself from looking to his right, knowing he was being unprofessional and that if Reborn had been there he would've just called him childish but he couldn't.

"Tenth," Gokudera's low tone drew his attention along with the small touch to Tsuna's elbow, " Is everything okay?"

Tsuna smiled at him and nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Everything is fine, don't worry." Then he looked away from him, not wanting to see the way Gokudera's face twisted in worry. They already had enough problems without him adding more on top.

He'd be fine.

Tsuna sped up his steps as he saw that Lambo and Bianchi were already entering the room. He heard Dino's cheerful hello and tried to put aside what had been plaguing him. He needed to focus on the meeting ahead not on things that had already happened and that couldn't be changed.

Their steps were loud on the polished floors, echoing up to the high ceilings that displayed little angels on clouds much like what Tsuna had seen in some of the churches he'd been to since coming to Italy. The Cavallone's family symbol was carved onto the top of every column that reached from floor to ceiling.

The maid which had led them there had stopped outside the room that she had shown Lambo and Bianchi into and smiled at the remaining trio as they approached. Her cheeks were still a rose hue from Lambo's flirting but it didn't stop her from sending appreciative looks over them as well.

She gave a small curtsy. "Right through here," she said, gesturing with a hand to the bright inside of the room.

"Thank you very much." Tsuna said, giving her a smile of his own before he stepped through.

Dino was lounging back against one corner of a huge brown sofa, two of his subordinates standing behind him and looking sharp in their black suits.

Dino looked up when Tsuna stepped through, Gokudera and Mukuro behind him. Lambo was hovering over a small table near the window which had refreshments out and Bianchi was mumbling about how her chocolate cake tasted better.

Tsuna walked over to Dino, hand outstretched to grasp Dino's as Dino half rose to greet him. "Tsuna, it's good that we could squeeze some time for this."

Tsuna nodded. "Yeah..."

Dino's face flicked over his shoulder, no doubt fixing on the unusual choice of company. But he turned back to Tsuna without saying anything.

Gokudera moved to take seat on the opposite sofa and when Tsuna looked he saw that Mukuro followed. Once again he settled himself right across from Tsuna and after making himself comfortable he lifted an eyebrow in an amused expression at finding Tsuna looking at him.

"Hey Tsuna, you want something to drink? Or something to eat?"

Tsuna turned back to Dino and lowered himself to the sofa, leaning back to make himself comfortable. He gave Dino a grateful smile but shook his head. "No I'm okay Dino-san. Erm..." he waited until Dino was seated before continuing, "have you found anything out?"

At that the face which had been radiating welcome and pleasure at seeing them changed.

"We have." Dino sighed and threw an arm over the back of the sofa, shifting to face Tsuna and pushing his hair back from his face with his other hand. "But it's not all good."

"The man?"

Dino nodded. "We've managed to link him to Byakuran."

Tsuna waited, his lips flattening into a thin line as he realised what the bad part of this would be. His gaze dropped from Dino's face and he stared at the light reflected on the leather sofa. "Hibari?" His voice came out lower.

"We haven't found him."

His hands clenched, knuckles pressing into the muscle of his thigh hard enough to bruise.

"Tsuna..."

He took a deep breath. He looked up. "Alright, please tell me what you've found."

He ignored the eyes steadied on him. It was impossible but Tsuna knew that there was that light of morbid humour in them. It felt like there was a pressure on his nape. He always felt the weight of those eyes.

 _It doesn't seem like you're getting anywhere Tsunayoshi-kun..._

The words were spoken into his ear, so low—Tsuna could swear he felt the brush of them against his neck. His skin prickled even as he tuned out Dino's voice, unable to concentrate as the impression of a hand seemed to wrap itself around the front of his neck.

His lashes fluttered as that same ghost like touch lingered on the corner of his eye.

 _Come to me and I'll help you._

"—na? Tsuna?"

Tsuna blinked and found Dino sitting closer to him than before, a hand waving so close to his face that Tsuna jerked back.

Gokudera half rose out of his seat. "Tenth?"

Tsuna glanced at him, still trying to wash the disorientation slowing his senses. "S-sorry—I'm fine..."

Gokudera sat back down, eyebrows lowered in worry and Dino eased back.

Tsuna was sure he was the only one who heard the chuckle.

~

"The man has been identified by the Varia as Damiano Carlucci." Yamamato talked around the food in his mouth. He was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to stop just over his bandaged forearms.

There were bandages around Yamamoto's neck too but Tsuna didn't ask. Every time Yamamoto returned from visiting the Varia he always had a multitude of wounds that hadn't been there before. Whether they were the result of what happened in a training room or what happened in a bedroom, Tsuna had never bothered to ask—even though he'd heard Gokudera snort about it plenty of times.

It was just the three of them in the kitchen. Yamamoto had gotten back late and the clock on the kitchen wall continued to tick past 00:05 am.

Tsuna was in sweats and a t-shirt, having been in the training room when Yamamoto had gotten in. He'd barely had time to pull off his gloves as he'd left the room in a hurry and Gokudera had met him halfway.

Gokudera sat, looking more than a little tired. He'd already been in bed and sat in his pyjamas, square glasses on his face and hair pulled back as he sipped from a coffee mug.

Yamamoto loosened his tie and jerked it up over his head, dropping the black silk next to his shigure kintoki which he'd rested on the counter next to him. His hand never stopped moving the huge sandwich to his mouth though.

For a moment the only sounds that filled the room was the ticking of the clock and Yamamoto's chewing. It made something in Tsuna lighten when he saw Gokudera frown at the way Yamamoto was taking his time, especially when he saw Gokudera swivel away with a heavy sigh. No doubt it was just to let Yamamoto know of his impatience without actually yelling.

Gokudera had been trying to keep arguments between them to a minimum ever since Tsuna had expressed that he didn't' want his friends arguing all the time. Never mind that it was usually Gokudera arguing _at_ Yamamoto.

"They couldn't pin point his background but what evidence they _did_ find shows that he might be connected to the new group that settled in Sardinia."

"The family that married into the Russian family Marcovski..." Tsuna murmured, staring unseeingly at a spot over Yamamoto's shoulder. "Does this mean they're involved with Byakuran?"

Yamamoto took another huge bite, chewed and swallowed. "At the moment that's the theory." Yamamoto gave him a small apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Tsuna. They had nothing else."

This time Tsuna didn't ask about Hibari. He was getting tired of getting the same answer. So he looked down at the floor instead, staring at the tips of his trainers.

"Hey... Tsuna..."

He sighed. "Yeah?"

"About Hibari..."

Out of the corner of his eye, Tsuna saw Yamamoto shift on the counter. He forced the words out. "Did they find something out about Hibari?"

"There were no remains. We checked every haunt spot that Carlucci was seen in and nothing. The Varia don't think he was killed. The Marcovski have this reputation for taking their enemy into one of their safe houses. They work on them from there."

A humourless laugh escaped his mouth. Tsuna couldn't help it. He doubled over, bracing his arms on his knees and burying his head in them. He could smell the salty tang of sweat that had soaked into his clothes during training.

"Do you know where any of those safe houses are?" He asked, his voice muted by his arms.

The clock continued to tick.

"I'm sorry Tsuna."

~

By the time Tsuna began to make his way upstairs to his room, Yamamoto and Gokudera had already retired to their rooms. They'd spent some time discussing possible plans to bring up at the next meeting. Tsuna had been able to briefly put worry aside and just attempt to find the best way to approach this. The situation had become worse than he'd thought. Although there had been suspicions about the scarred man being related to Byakuran, he hadn't factored losing one of his Guardians or the Marcovski's being involved.

The latest developments revealed just how many threats there were now and how carefully they'd have to tread so that it wouldn't all blow up in their face.

Tsuna gripped the banister as he climbed the stairs. He went slowly, feeling heavy despite the shower he'd taken to soothe the muscles. He'd ended up going back to the training room for another few hours.

The steps creaked under his feet and he rubbed at his hair with the end of the towel draped around his neck. His t-shirt clung to his skin where he hadn't quite dried it properly and his feet were bare. The lights on the corridors had been turned to their lowest, barely keeping the elegant passageways lit as Tsuna walked back to his room.

His eyes were a deeper brown, from fatigue as much as the lack of light as they followed the patterns of the carpet.

Tsuna pulled the towel from around his neck and wiped the drops that had fallen onto his forehead, rubbing his face with it roughly as he neared his room.

He needed sleep.

Opening the door he stepped into his room and the first thing he noticed was the cool air that touched his feet and ankles.

Tsuna lowered the towel and his head came up, his other hand closing the door behind him as his eyes did a quick sweep of his room.

The covers of his bed had already been turned down by the maid that came in at night and the lamp next to it had been left on, throwing a warm glow over the room. The pillows were set against the head board. The papers he'd left lying scattered on the low table in front of the sofa were exactly where he'd left them but in a neater pile.

The only thing that wasn't as it should have been was the doors to the balcony. They were open. The dark blue curtains caught behind them and barely shifting. It was only the frayed tips that danced along the floor from the push of the breeze that came in from the outside.

Towel still hanging from his fingers, Tsuna crossed the room to the doors leading outside. His steps didn't make any noise as he walked. It had become a habit somewhere along the line.

Outside the sky was deep blue stretching way beyond to meet the sea. The familiar sound of waves poured into the room and the sea air drifted inside. Tsuna stepped outside into it, forgetting for the moment why he'd come out to begin with and just indulging in the sudden need to stay there and listen. Take it in.

 

But when he stepped onto the balcony, something white caught his attention from the corner of his eyes, followed by the heavy flutter of wings.

Tsuna turned to look.

Mukuro leaned on the concrete balustrade that enclosed the entire balcony. His legs were stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. The owl resting on the fingers of the right hand Mukuro had stretched out was rubbing its head against his cheek. Behind him the sea breeze, stirred by the waves, played with his hair making it appear almost as if it had a life of its own as it rose and fell, the tips tracing sinuous patterns in air.

The night added to the paleness of Mukuro's face, making the smooth skin seem unnatural when set against the darkness surrounding them.

Tsuna watched, mesmerized as graceful fingers brushed down gently over a wing of pure white and heard the answering coo of the owl as it enjoyed the petting, closing its gold eyes as it continued to rub against Mukuro's cheek.

"It's pretty isn't it?"

The question started Tsuna out of his daze and he tore his eyes away from the long fingers still stroking the owl to look at Mukuro. Mukuro wasn't looking at him. He'd drawn back from the owl but his eyes were still on the animal as he gave it a small whimsical smile.

Tsuna forgot for a moment to ask what Mukuro was doing there and nodded slowly. "It's very beautiful..."

Mukuro's smile widened and this time he did glance at Tsuna.

The red of his right eye stood out, a reminder of what he could do.

Tsuna's fingers clenched the edge of the towel he was holding into a fist.

Without saying anything, Mukuro moved the hand on which the owl was perched, extending it to Tsuna and getting a rise out of the owl as it flapped its wings and seemed as if it would take off. But it didn't, it settled back down, shifting its clawed feet to curl around Mukuro's fingers, rubbing its beak onto a wing.

Without thinking Tsuna walked around the table, curiosity and fascination make his eyes widen as he got closer to the owl that was a lot bigger than it seemed when up close. Still he stopped a few steps away from it, lowering his head to look at it better.

Mukuro chuckled, the sound vibrating along his arm and making the owl's wings lift again, but this time it took less time for it to settle back down.

"You can touch it if you like."

Tsuna looked up at him, surprised. "Really?"

Mukuro inclined his head, the smile fading from his lips and his eyes narrowing on Tsuna. Then he nodded.

Tsuna turned back to the owl, a smile of his own tipping up the corners of his lips as his eyes lit up with child-like curiosity and excitement. Throwing the towel onto the table, Tsuna stepped closer, taking care not to be too abrupt and scare the beautiful animal.

The wings quivered under the pads of his fingers,. the feathers were silky and soft. And warm. The small smile that had begun to appear on Tsuna's face changed into a full blown one and he stepped closer, lifting his other hand to rub gently at the owl's head. The owl just rubbed its head against Tsuna's palm, cooing again.

He laughed. "This is amazing Mukuro-san, I've never been this close to an owl before," he gave a wry shrug and looked up at Mukuro, the genuine and warm smile on his face surprising the other man—not at seeing it but instead at seeing it directed his way. But Tsuna didn't notice the smallest widening of Mukuro's eyes. "You'd think with all the box weapon animals I wouldn't be so excited about this but it's pretty cool."

Mukuro stayed silent and the familiar smirk didn't return as he kept his silent gaze on Tsuna. "Your Rain Guardian is back."

Tsuna looked up from the owl and his smile became closed lipped although it remained. "Yeah," he looked back down at the owl, "it's good to have Yamamoto home."

"You like having them with you." Mukuro murmured.

"They're my friends and my family. Of course."

"Hmm, so Kyouya Hibari is a friend and family...?"

Tsuna tensed. The smile disappeared completely from his face and he dropped his hands away from the owl. Mukuro lowered the outstretched arm, resting the hand with the owl against his thigh. "Hibari is..." Tsuna shrugged and looked away. Then he chuckled and looked down, hands going to his pockets. "He doesn't like to be grouped with others." He heard the affectionate note in his own voice and winced when he remembered how Hibari would've reacted to it.

The flapping of wings and the beat of air against his cheek had Tsuna straightening and lifting his eyes only to catch sight of the white bird flying away with powerful strokes of his wings.

And then there was a hand sliding under his chin, curving over his jaw and jerking his head up so that he was staring at Mukuro's face. Mukuro had stood up and covered the small distance between them, crowding into Tsuna as their eyes met.

"But he's not here."

Tsuna met the calculating gaze straight on. "No. He's not. But we'll bring him back."

Now that smirk crept back onto that beautiful face. "A joint effort?" Mukuro lowered his head a little more.

"It's always a joint effort."

"Then should I help?" The words were murmured to him, the fingers gripping Tsuna's jaw tight enough that he couldn't pull back.

Tsuna felt the dull thuds against his chest speed up. He stood still, hands at his side. He wasn't aware that he'd curled his hands into fists again. "You're a Guardian too."

Mukuro leaned closer until his forehead was touching Tsuna's. "By that do you mean a friend and a part of your family?"

Up close the crimson of Mukuro's eye seemed darker. Tsuna licked his lips. Mukuro was standing against him now. Could he feel Tsuna's heart beat?

Mukuro's hand slid away from his jaw. It moved up, palm pressing over Tsuna's cheek as those long fingers spread, a thumb brushing the corner of Tsuna's eye and making his lashes flicker, the smallest finger teasing its way to rest against the back of his neck. Another traced the shells of his ear. "You don't have anything better to offer?"

Another hand slipped beneath Tsuna's t-shirt, feather light fingers trailing their way to the canter of his spine and climbing up.

"No."

Mukuro's eyes crinkled at the corners. "Then this would be where you step away wouldn't it?"

 _'The Marcovski have this reputation for taking their enemy into one of their safe houses. They work on them from there.'_

Tsuna closed his eyes, breathing deep. His hands lifted. His fingers sifted through soft hair, digging into warm scalp. He pressed Mukuro's forehead harder against his.

"Yeah..." he murmured, eyes shutting tighter.

 _'I'm sorry Tsuna.'_

He shook his head. "Yeah."

And curling his fingers into Mukuro's hair, Tsuna brought his mouth to his.

He felt it against his mouth, the curving of those lips seconds before they parted over his and teeth nipped at his bottom lip. The hand that had been on his back came around to his front, splaying its fingers over his stomach as Tsuna started to lick the small sting on his lip away—

He didn't quite manage it. When his lips parted Mukuro slid his tongue inside, brushing against his. Tsuna tipped his head back further, rising on the balls of his feet to cover the small height difference between them.

Mukuro's fingers rasped roughly over Tsuna's stomach, making him suck it in in reaction to the feathery touch. Mukuro broke the kiss, the hand he'd had on Tsuna's chin joining his other one in pushing up Tsuna's t-shirt. Although his nails were blunt, Tsuna still felt them dragging their way up to close around his upper ribcage, hauling him closer.

Teeth bit the corner of Tsuna's chin. He caught at the edge of Mukuro's shirt, not realising his hips had started a slow grind. He was already on his way to being hard and when he rolled his hips, Mukuro shoved his thigh between his legs and he came up against firm muscle.

Mukuro sucked on the spot he'd just bitten into and this time in the middle of the hard breaths that were leaving Tsuna, a groan broke out.

Tsuna let go of Mukuro's hair, his hands gripped Mukuro's collar and tugged at it as he jerked his head away, feeling the sting on his skin from where Mukuro had been. Tsuna tugged harder and there was the sound of something tearing seconds before he brought Mukuro's mouth back to his..

At the sound of the tear though, the savouring hands that had been on him tightened, their grip turning hard enough to make Tsuna hiss and break away from the kiss, panting.

Mukuro put some distance between them and tugged at Tsuna's t-shirt, pulling it off, his face disappearing from Tsuna's view as his vision was hindered by cloth before he could even get a proper look of his face.

His arms lifted up on instinct and he shuddered when his nipple was caught between Mukuro's teeth as the t-shirt was tugged away.

He stumbled back, disoriented from the lack of sight and the warmth that seemed to intensify in his lower belly as Mukuro repeated his actions from before and started to suck on him.

"Mukuro..." Tsuna gasped.

As soon as the t-shirt was gone—Tsuna didn't even see where Mukuro threw it—Tsuna looked up into Mukuro's face.

For reasons he couldn't understand he wanted to see it. He wanted to see if there was something other than that mocking expression that he always had. He wanted to know if he was alone in what was happening, if he was being played with in the same way Mukuro always played with everything else..

The first thought that entered Tsuna's mind when he saw Mukuro's face though, was that something in him felt threatened. It made him feel an instinctive fear that wasn't wholly natural..

The red of that gaze stood out so much in the dark. Mukuro was as out of breath as he was and his lips were already swelling, flushed, spilling fast breaths as he stepped forward again. His eyes were roaming the skin he'd bared with a focus that was different from what Tsuna was used to. That glint of _satisfaction_ that had been there so many years back when Mukuro had though he'd won and was going to possess Tsuna. That same glint was there, stamped onto Mukuro's face as he reached for his own t-shirt.

That too was tossed aside and Tsuna's eyes flicked over the bare skin, feeling a jerk in his belly as he saw the dark nipples, tightened, Mukuro's chest heaving.

Mukuro shot forward so fast that Tsuna couldn't help stepping back in a rush. His foot hit the leg of a chair hard and knocked it onto its side. The loud noise burst into the silence, overriding the sounds of their heated breaths for a moment, a shock to their tuned senses. But Mukuro was already in front of him, crowding him again until his back was hitting the table.

The table skidded back, the noise scraping at their ears but not stopping the rush of limbs as firm hands clamped down on Tsuna's thighs and pushed them apart, making space for the hips that worked their way between them.

The table was cool against his bare back a contrast to the heat of Mukuro's body as he ground into him. Tsuna locked his legs around him, heels digging into a firm ass to press him harder against him. Tsuna arched up, his head digging back into the table as his eyes fluttered closed and a moan caught in his throat.

It felt good, the rough grinds, Mukuro's chest was pressing down on his, his arms braced on the table either side of Tsuna and bracketing him between them.

Mukuro moved against him harder, his cheek was pressing into the hollow of Tsuna's throat, his head tucked under Tsuna's chin as Tsuna moved with him. But Mukuro didn't' seem to be content to let it remain like that. Mukuro's back curving, he tried to put space between them, hips lifting away from Tsuna's. It made Tsuna's eyes snap open at the loss of friction. "Wha—"

His words were effectively cut off as his shorts and underwear were caught together and tugged down.

Tsuna's breath caught in his throat as the motion rubbed the elastic of his underwear against the head of his cock and Tsuna reached an automatic hand down to wrap around himself, fingers quick to start on a stroke up as the shorts were pulled away completely and Mukuro was once more stepping between his legs.

Mukuro rested a hand on Tsuna's stomach. This touch was different. There was no pressure. It commanded Tsuna's attention like nothing else would have and Tsuna looked up to meet his gaze.

Sometime during their kissing and stumbling, Mukuro's hair had come loose and it spilled over onto his chest to whisper over Tsuna's thighs. Mukuro leaned forward. The denim he still wore rubbed against the inside of Tsuna's thighs. Tsuna's mouth parted on a gasp as Mukuro leaned closer his hand sliding up; the denim touching the underside of Tsuna's balls.

Tsuna lifted a hand to curl around Mukuro's slim wrist. His legs tightened against Mukuro's hips as Mukuro's hand slipped over his chest to curl around his neck in a loose grasp.

Mukuro rocked his hips against him and Tsuna hissed, fingers pressing tighter into the wrist they were wrapped around.

Their gazes were locked.

"This is... surprising..."

"Take it off—" Tsuna's voice was hoarse. He redirected his hands, tearing at Mukuro's jeans, digging the buttons into his fingers and not even feeling it when one almost slid under his nail and threatened to rip it off.

Tsuna managed to push them past Mukuro's hips but couldn't do more than that with the way that Mukuro kept him pressed down. He wasn't kept waiting long though because Mukuro was already shifting back to take care of the rest.

Tsuna could glimpse perfect skin, a hint of the swell of a firm ass as the denim was pushed lower. His attention was caught by the erection that came into view. Freed from the press of the denim it was flushed darker than Mukuro's skin.

Instead of taking the jeans off completely, Mukuro hooked a hand under one of Tsuna's knees and the other caught his thigh, then he tugged.

Tsuna sucked in a sharp breath when he felt Mukuro's cock bump against the underside of his balls but he didn't say anything, just watching as Mukuro leaned down, sliding one of Tsuna's legs over his shoulder and letting the other go as he ground his hips forwards.

Tsuna's stomach tightened and he watched, his eyes widening as Mukuro kept his gaze firmly locked on the place where their bodies touched. Their hips had begun rocking together, Mukuro's length sliding against him and the head of his cock bumping against Tsuna's balls again and again. It wasn't long before Tsuna had reached down to start stroking himself again, his hips lifting to push himself into his fist and onto Mukuro's thrusts.

The clenching of his thighs was unintentional. Tsuna couldn't help the reaction when Mukuro lifted two of those elegant fingers to his mouth, parting his lips and then touching them to his tongue before sliding them in further and closing his lips around them.

Tsuna started moving his hand a little faster—circling his thumb over the slit and his breath hitching—

Mukuro's gaze snapped up to his and he took his fingers out.

God.

He looked—so beyond what Tsuna had imagined.

The image of Mukuro standing there, pale skin against the deep blue of the night sky was carefully searing itself into his mind. The harsh rise and fall of his chest, the hair that clung to Mukuro's body. Then there was the bite of Mukuro's fingers as they stayed on his knee, thumb trapped between his shoulder and Tsuna's leg; the smear of warm moistness where his cock rubbed against Tsuna.

Tsuna moved his hand faster. His eyes closed.

Two fingers slid between his cheeks and probed against the ring of muscle there. Tsuna slid his hand along the table. His fingers curved over the edge and gripped it tight.

They didn't even have any lubricant, just the dampness of from Mukuro's mouth that had already become cold from the breeze.

Mukuro pushed them in. Tsuna's mouth tensed as he felt the sting from too little lubrication. It made it feel as if the intrusion was bigger than it was meant to be. He clenched his jaw and his nostrils flared as forced himself not to clench around the fingers and make it worse.

Mukuro just pushed them in all the way in one slow press, stopping only when he couldn't push them in any further.

This was different. Different from what he and Hibari did.

As the thought crossed his mind, his entire body tensed—he clenched down on the fingers and a choked groan left him as he half rose off of the table, barely feeling any discomfort as his thigh was nearly pressed to his chest in the position. But then Mukuro was touching the back of his neck, kneading his scalp and leaning in close enough to pour a 'shhh...' into his ear.

The fingers were pulled back and then thrust in again. This time they slid in a bit deeper, his new position unintentionally spreading him more.

But although it still felt good, although his hand was still wrapped tight around his own erection, it was as if a switch was flipped and he shivered when the cold breeze touched him. His shoulders trembled and he instinctively curled in that bit more. The sound of the waves crashed into the pleasure induced silence that had been disturbed only by the gasps between them.

Hibari.

Mukuro's fingers stretched him and he trembled harder. But he wanted it. He pressed into it as he breathed in deep, not looking at what either of them were doing. He was stroking himself and biting into his lower lip to keep from moaning at how good that felt even as those fingers added a little more _hurt._

So Tsuna didn't say anything.

He didn't say anything as the fingers left him. He didn't say anything as his leg slid down only to remain thrown over Mukuro's arm. He didn't say anything when he felt Mukuro pressed the head of his cock against the place his fingers had just left.

He didn't say anything when Mukuro lowered his mouth to his neck and pressed his nose to his jaw. He was breathing him in.

And when he pushed in—when Mukuro forced him open with one thrust—it hurt. And he heard Mukuro hiss. And he felt blunt nails scrape over his hip to slide lower and grab at the firm muscle of his ass. It pressed him closer, pressed Mukuro deeper. And it hurt more.

The table scraped back further with the first thrust. Another bit with the second—but then Tsuna braced a hand on the table. He wasn't trying to hold it in place. It helped him brace himself as he pushed back against the hard thrusts. The burn tightened the coil of heat in his belly and his other arm found its way around Mukuro's shoulder, keeping him pressed close and feeling Mukuro's hair slide over his shoulders and over his back as Mukuro moved against him.

Mukuro turned his face into Tsuna's throat, sucking and nipping—the sounds he made nothing but low gasps as he pressed himself against Tsuna harder and harder—until the muscles in Tsuna's thigh began to ache as Mukuro's stomach shifted against Tsuna's erection.

A particularly hard thrust flattened Tsuna back against the table. Mukuro braced a knee on the table as he came over him, his mouth leaving Tsuna's neck in favour of pressing his damp forehead to Tsuna's chest again. Their harsh breaths filled the silence, made of the same elements as the waves beneath them.

Tsuna felt himself growing closer, could feel his muscles tensing in that way that told him he was close—and he was torn between getting Mukuro to more faster and keeping the pleasurable pain going. He framed the aristocratic face, using unnecessary strength to get Mukuro to look up and into his face.

He brought his face close, breathing against Mukuro's parted lips.

"Does it—please you," he hissed, eyes narrowing and face contorting in an expression which could've been pain, "to know that—I'm playing in this game you put—nnn—everyone in...?"

Mukuro slowed down and eased inside him until his pelvis was pressed to Tsuna's buttocks. He was breathing hard, his eyes unblinking as they stayed on Tsuna's. His hair curtained them from anything else around them and the heat of the air between them warmed Tsuna's skin.

"You make it sound like you don't want to."

Tsuna didn't reply, letting the sound of his short breaths fill the silence for him.

The corner of Mukuro's mouth curved. He pushed in further—and this time Tsuna's eyes widened as he hit that spot—

"Then why do you let me...?"

Tsuna couldn't answer.

He didn't care right then. Mukuro's stomach pressed against his cock one more time—firm, warm, damp—and his cock pushed against his prostrate again—

And Tsuna's eyes screwed shut as a groan was wrenched from his throat and he pushed back hard against Mukuro. And he came.

He heard Mukuro's gasp—and slitted his eyes open as his orgasm made him shudder against the table. He saw Mukuro's mouth open, swollen lips panting out a silent groan as his eyes closed too seconds before something warm filled him.

Then the glimmer of red appeared. Mukuro lowered himself against him.

The hand that Tsuna lifted to the back of Mukuro's head to stroke through damp hair was automatic. He stared up at the sky. The weight on him felt comforting. Different.

Things... were so different now.

He sighed.

Sleep. He wanted to sleep.

He heard the chuckle as it was let out against his neck and he complied with the hands that slid under his shoulders and urged him to sit up.

"I think we should go inside Vongola Tenth." Mukuro slipped out of him and Tsuna shuddered.

Tsuna's head hung low, his neck feeling boneless. "Hmm..." He slipped, obliging, onto his feet and winced as the cold spiked up the soles of his feet. He walked to his room guided by the hand that spanned the back of his neck, too tired to even mind the uncomfortable feeling of warmth seeping out of him and onto his upper thighs.

He was so intent on just sliding into his bed and taking relief from simply not thinking, that he missed the delay in Mukuro following him in. He missed the crinkling of those eyes and a smile of sinister satisfaction given to the white feathered owl.

And when the unexpected warmth of another sank into the bed beside him, Tsuna didn't hear the beating of wings as it flew away. He just pushed himself into the heat of the body spooning against his.

~

Tsuna stirred awake to the easy sound of someone sleeping and someone else wrapped around him..

The light from curtains that hadn't been drawn shut the night before were hitting him full on the face and he tried to block it out with his hand, bringing it up to shield himself even as he frowned.

His eyes felt like they had been sealed shut and Tsuna didn't want to open them. He shifted against the feel of the skin against his, a murmur of pleasure rumbling his throat as he rubbed his cheek into the pillow and attempted to hitch the sheets around him a little higher.

But the flutter against his cheek kept him from sinking back into sleep. Because it persisted—and it kept persisting until something sharp poked him right where the soft brush had touched.

Tsuna frowned and managed to open his eyes to a squint.

And he saw a small yellow bird just inches away from his face.

He stilled as his eyes slowly opened completely and any grogginess from sleep faded at a rapid pace.

The bird cocked its head at him and then pecked at his cheek again. Tsuna jerked up.

Hibird skipped back, still looking at him with tiny sharp brown eyes.

~

Hibari was debriefed by Yamamoto.

Six broken ribs, one broken arm and a twisted leg. His eye had almost been sealed shut and his right shoulder severely burned.

He'd managed to escape while in such a state and he'd taken a good chunk out of his enemy too.

The Marcovski had been keeping as close an eye on the Vongola as the Vongola had on their man.

Willing to brave bodily harm, Yamamoto and Dino had managed to keep Hibari confined to his room, pointing out that it could've been worse. He could've stayed in the hospital.

That had been two days ago. Tsuna had seen him only once and that had been while Hibari was wavering between his body's demand to give in to sleep and his mind's need to stay awake. The sheer will alone which had gotten him through Marcovski's hunt for him, kept him awake for three more hours before Shamal lost his patience at having to deal with a male patient and just pumped him full of drugs.

Tsuna was perched on the edge of his desk, his back to the door. But his gaze wasn't focused on anything beyond the windows. It was early evening and the windows just provided the rosy yellowed hues of the setting sun against the walls opposite.

He felt for the first time in a long time, confined in the suit he wore. The tie was too tight. His temples felt as if they were about to burst.

Hibari was back. That was a good thing.

Relief as he'd arrived at the hospital to find Hibari there had been bone-numbing and for a few seconds Tsuna had braced a hand against the wall for support.

All his Guardians were under his roof again.

Everyone was safe again. For now.

His eyes slid closed and his hands clenched into tight fists as he felt the air against the back of his neck stir seconds before lips brushed against is nape, producing goose bumps that went beyond the collar of his shirt.

"I thought you wanted your Cloud Guardian to come back...?"

Tsuna didn't turn. But he didn't move away. "I did."

"Hmm I hear he's awake."

"I know."

"But you remain here."

Tsuna put more weight on his hands as he leaned forward away from that mouth.

That familiar laughter was low toned as it followed Tsuna's movement. He felt the tip of a nose brush down the length of his neck. "Aren't you going to visit him?"

"Of course..."

"...Alright. I can wait for you to thank me."

At that Tsuna twisted a little, eyes blinking open. "Thank you?"

 _'Don't you think...?'_

"You asked me. So I helped."

"I didn't ask you anything."

 _'Illusions are just like water...'_

"You asked a lot of things. But with time you'll realise that on your own."

Tsuna didn't have to turn around to know that he was gone.

The feeling of Mukuro's lips lingered.

The rigidness went out of Tsuna's shoulders. His fists uncurled.

So it had been Mukuro.

The smile that appeared on Tsuna's face was sad.

At least one of his mistakes had led to something worthwhile.

 _'Deceptive.'_


End file.
